Northern National Parks

Montagne d’Ambre National Park (Amber Mountain) is situated about 40 km south of Antisranana (Diego Suarez) and covers 18,500 ha of protected rainforest area.

Montagne D’Ambre National Park

The park is reached by a 7 km dirt track from the small colonial town of Joffreville. The climate is always cool and fresh and the park is well known for its bird’s nest ferns, tree ferns, orchids and the rare rainforest baobab.

The park has approximately 30 km of walking trails which can offer close encounters with many species of small creatures such as chameleons, snakes, frogs and geckos. There are a number of different species of lemurs in the park, including the Crowned and Sanfords lemurs, as well as the nocturnal Amber Mountain Forked lemur, and the park is the best place to see the diurnal ringtail mongoose.

Ankarana Special Reserve

Ankarana covers an area of 18,220 ha and is one of the country’s most popular reserves. It features a most fascinating landscape of ‘tsingy’ (limestone karst pinnacles) and forest with numerous underground caves and rivers which are home to crocodiles and bats. The reserve is also known for its many lemur species, including the Crowned and Sanford’s lemurs, and it is a great place to see birds, reptiles and insects.